Please, drive safely

Anyone who knows me is aware I can be fanatical about drivers and safety. I have years of trauma experience and have driven most kinds of vehicles — from tractor-trailers to 20-ton dumps to motorcycles. I have attended numerous safety programs and have been involved in fire and rescue.

I am absolutely disgusted with the driving practices in Centre County. Tri-axle trucks and tractor-trailers driving 70 mph on I-99, Route 150 and Route 64 mix with pickups, minivans and cars — with occupants who have no idea they could die in seconds if another driver makes a mistake.

I often drive these local roads and rarely see law enforcement monitoring traffic, especially from 7-8:30 a.m. and 4:30-6 p.m., when no one drives less than 60 mph. The recent excessive accidents with semitrailers and tri-axle trucks are frightening, yet I have never ( in 28 years living here ) seen an overloaded tri-axle truck get stopped and weighed. Semitrailer drivers know enough to take detours when the weigh stations are active, thanks to their CB radios.

Today’s drivers give no thought that every single mile could be their last, due to drivers on their cellphones, passing on the right or eating while driving. I have observed this every time I travel I-99 between the Bellefonte and Gray’s Woods exits.

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Man strips naked, straddles vehicle after car crash

A man was facing multiple charges, police said, after allegedly crashing his car in a multi-vehicle collision, assaulting another man, stripping naked, straddling a vehicle as it drove along a highway, and causing traffic delays on December 11.
The incident happened on Route 28 in Virginia. This footage shows the aftermath of the collision. The man can be seen behaving erratically, and strips naked for a period. He is also seen straddling the headboard frame of a vehicle.
Police said the man was detained for a short time on the grounds of Dulles Airport, after the events in this footage.
“He was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries,” police said. “No one else was injured during the crash or assault. Charges are pending as we are working to identify the suspect.”